Curtis reviewed Star Wars: The Force Awakens by Alan Dean Foster
Review of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I have never read a novelization before; if this is a typical example, I don't expect to read any again.
In short, this book reads like a loquacious friend's in-depth recounting of the movie: Some parts are severely devoid of detail and would be inscrutable had I not already seen the movie, while in other places you're like, "Naw, bro, that's not the way it happened." And then there's the stuff that the friend just makes up, like added dialogue or theories about how Starkiller Base might work scientifically....
Also, Alan Dean Foster writes prose like he's procrastinating from doing something else. It's filled with nonsequiturs like, "Despite lack of any training with a lightsaber, Finn was athletic and courageous." Because one can't be athletic and courageous without lightsaber training?
Ultimately, this book lacks from a severe round of editing, both for continuity with the movie (somehow both of these stories are considered canon, even given the discrepancies) and on a line-editing level.
It deserves 2.5 stars. I gave it 3 because Goodreads doesn't allow half-stars. The generosity notwithstanding, I did like a few of the additional bits, such as Poe's recovery on Jakku and his ability to find a ride. Unkar Plutt's encounter with Chewie was fun, too, if extraneous.